The haunted world of the jihadi-hunter leaves little time for a normal life for this blunt and obsessive American.
03/07/2006 The Bulletin (Australia)
Lunch with Jana Wendt

Steven Emerson is on a mission to save the world. Let us agree that the world, daily convulsed with another bombing or fresh beheading courtesy of men invoking God, could do with some saving. What is not generally agreed on is where, precisely, responsibility for the mess resides. Over a decade ago, Emerson identified the enemy as jihadists  fundamentalist Muslims  and set out to understand them. He has concluded that no compromise is possible and that the western world risks submerging its own identity as it bends to intimidation from radical Islam.

Today Emersons occupation  indeed, passionate preoccupation  is born of a world staring such irreconcilable differences in the face. As executive director of The Investigative Project on Terrorism, a Washington-based, non-profit organisation, Emerson collects data and intelligence on the activities of Islamist terrorist groups. What he and his two dozen or so staff unearth is provided to the US Congress, to the various arms of American law enforcement and to international media.

As we look out over Sydney Harbour, during Emersons visit down-under to give politicians and intelligence agencies the benefit of his sleuthing, it is not the clatter of cutlery that accompanies our conversation as much as the sound of civilisations clashing. I believe its the number-one threat we face. Its the collision course between Islam and the western world. Emersons deep conviction took root in his former life as an investigative reporter. While working for the US network, CNN in the early 90s, Emerson happened upon the story that would consume him. The degree to which radical Muslims had infiltrated the United States and exploited its liberties in order to undermine it, was for Emerson more than just a story. This was an important issue that went beyond the typical conviction that a journalist might have, that drives him to put a story on the air. The story gets on the air and then moves on to something else. I wasnt willing to move on to something else. This tugged at the heart of our very existence 

Leaving behind his covetable six-figure salary at CNN in 1993, Emerson set up The Investigative Project and produced Jihad in America, a documentary where Emerson, under cover, exposed the blood-curdling language of incitement used by terrorists from Missouri to Florida. For his efforts, Emerson won a number of awards, including the prestigious George Polk Award for best television documentary. But alongside the prizes, he also acquired a lifetimes enemies. Despite insisting that encouraging and supporting moderate Muslims is half of my mission, Emerson has been condemned by his opponents as an Islamophobe, been the subject of two biographies (needless to say, unauthorised) by Hamas and received death threats.

In spite of this, Emerson has opted for a dangerous life. If I paid attention to what was said about me in jihadist circles or their apologists circles, I would be paralysed. And Im not going to allow that to occur thats what they want to do, to paralyse me, to intimidate me.

When I ask about how this plays out in his everyday life, he takes cover behind, There are issues that I have to deal with. Its a personal issue. There have been some obvious concessions, however. Im not doing undercover work any longer I hung up my undercover days after the documentary. I was outed at that point. The actuarials, he says wryly, would have changed dramatically, had I continued. But we employ others to do it freelance anti-jihadists, if you will.

Piecing together an accurate picture of the life led by jihad-buster Emerson presents a challenge. By his own reckoning, he is on the road around 200 days a year. Left to soldier on at home is his team of investigators; left to comb through tens of thousands of pages of evidence presented in court cases which may provide useful information; left to expose the ruses employed by terrorist organisations masquerading as charities; left to add to the 4 million documents and 18,000 hours of undercover audio and video collected by them to expose the enemys objectives. The boss meanwhile, who insists on a paper trail and rejects intuition as a substitute, stays in touch through late-night email vigils in countless anonymous hotel rooms.

So what happens when you go home? There is no home. Theres a domicile. ...

Useful Searches

About USMessageBoard.com

USMessageBoard.com was founded in 2003 with the intent of allowing all voices to be heard. With a wildly diverse community from all sides of the political spectrum, USMessageBoard.com continues to build on that tradition. We welcome everyone despite political and/or religious beliefs, and we continue to encourage the right to free speech.

Come on in and join the discussion. Thank you for stopping by USMessageBoard.com!